A/N: Hey! So um, long time no see? Hehe...well, I've been feeling vaguely guilty that I hadn't been updating Of Paper, Hair, and Gods, which is honestly because I'm stuck and I have no idea where I want to take the story. Like, I know where I want to take it after the Byakuran arc, but where the hell is the arc actually going? Anyways, the point is, I haven't written in forever, so to get back into the groove of writing, I decided to come up with this little thing. This is just an experiment with crossovers, and it had been an idea nagging at my mind for a while. I'm also not going to set myself a word minimum (since I did it for Of Paper, Hair, and Gods, and it only seemed to pressure me and make me enjoy the writing experience less), so chapter length will be varied. Please enjoy!

XxX

Sawada Tsunayoshi had never really wanted anything to do with Pokemon. They were dangerous, vicious, and often incredibly scary. If their pre-evolved forms were adorable balls of fluff, their evolutions were fierce, snarling beasts ready to tear his face off. Sure, some were beautiful, looked gentle, and gave off an aura of majestic perfection, but still, Tsuna knew, deep inside, they were waiting for the chance to hurt him.

He'd always had evidence to support his claims, no matter how much his father nudged Zigzagoon towards him or his mother asked if he'd wanted a Swablu for his birthday. The last time Tsuna had tried to pet a Zigzagoon, supposedly curious and somewhat dull-witted creatures, it had leapt at him with enthusiasm and proceeded to scratch at his clothes, tearing off pieces of cloth and chewing at his hair.

It was safe to say that Tsuna was scared of Pokemon in general.

"It's because you look like a little, fluffy Pokemon yourself," Sawada Iemitsu joked, laughing and ruffling his son's hair when a Taillow had dive-bombed him and pecked at his hair. The man waved off the wild Pokemon, and the bird fled.

Tsuna had pouted adorably and made up his mind that he'd never, ever get a Pokemon.

Naturally, because such was the law of the universe, Tsuna's future was filled with many, many confrontations with Pokemon, and whether he liked it or not, he'd be surrounded by him. It was a good thing he didn't know, else he'd probably burrow under the ground like a Diglett and never emerge again.

XxX

If there was one quality about Tsuna that everyone knew, it was that he was a scared, cowering slip of a kid. It didn't matter that he was fifteen, the brunet refused to venture outside of his hometown, Verdanturf Town, and instead contented himself with helping around the Poke Mart his mother ran while his father was away 'exploring the great outdoors'.

(Tsuna never begrudged his father of his explorations. While he did always protest when his father left for months, he'd always come back, drawn to his mother's gentle smile and the sweet, fresh air of Verdanturf. He'd always bring back money from whatever odd jobs he did, stay for a week or two, and leave on another adventure. Although Tsuna knew his mother grew lonely sometimes, his father would always return, eyes sparkling and skin several shades darker, with stories of grappling with Tentacruel and riding on the back of a Wailord. Tsuna never really believed these stories, but Nana's face would redden with interest and become captivated with the man she married.

Somehow, this relationship worked for his family, and if Nana didn't protest too much, neither would Tsuna.)

Whenever he spied a trainer's Pokemon, he'd edge away from it and hope that it wouldn't spot him. He absolutely refused to venture out into Route 117, and whenever he did, he'd ride fast on his Rydel Mach Bike, scrape himself several times from falls, jump away from rustles in the grass, and arrive sweating and panting in Mauville City. It was always a terrifying experience for him.

What was less known about his personality, though, was his kind heart. As scared as he usually was of Pokemon, it was downright ironic that he'd never leave one in pain, no matter how terrifying it was. Not known to anyone, once he'd nursed a Roselia back to health despite its stormy face and threatening poisonous thorns. He'd snuck a Potion from the Poke Mart's inventory to it and, after sitting a safe distance from it for two days, the wild Pokemon had mustered the strength wave its flowers at him wildly, twirled, and fled. Tsuna thought it was going to spear him and poison him to death and had frozen as it pranced away. (In reality, the Roselia had performed a small dance in gratitude. Tsuna was never good at interpreting the intentions of Pokemon.)

It was a combination of events, his bleeding heart, and sheer misfortune that threw him headlong into a life he didn't expect and most decidedly did not want. Too bad the world never asked him for his opinions.

XxX

"Tsu-chan, I need you to grab some supplies from Mauville City."

Tsuna's head shot up like an alarmed Rattata's, and fearful brown eyes peered at Nana from over a shelf he was restocking.

"W-what?" he squeaked.

Nana frowned down at a clipboard in his hand. "We're nearly out of Antidotes, and our next shipment won't be in for another week. I've already contacted the Poke Mart in Mauville, and they said that they'd be willing to send over some if we ordered extra the next time and sent it back. I can't leave the shop, so you'll have to go get them."

Tsuna paled. "Are you sure you need me to go? There shouldn't be that many trainers who need Antidotes, right…?" he asked hopefully.

Right on cue, as if the universe was conspiring against him, the Poke Mart's doorbell rang, and a hassled looking trainer entered. He strode up to Nana, who beamed at the young man.

"I need some Antidotes."

Tsuna cried.

XxX

The sky was a light blue, full of clouds as fluffy as Altaria and a bright, shining sun. A gentle wind whipped at Tsuna's clothes, and the grass bent gently under his shoes and bike.

Tsuna felt as if it was his doomsday.

It's okay, it's just a short ride, you'll be okay, he coached himself mentally as he clumsily swung his leg over his bike. He prayed to whatever gods out there that he'd make it through safely and with no encounters from any sort of Pokemon before pedaling furiously out of his hometown.

There were several scares along the way (a breeder shouted out to him, Volbeat and Illumise swarmed around him, a stray Poochyena growled warningly, and he swore, there was something in the grass watching him oh my god), but he managed to reach Mauville safely. Well, if safely equated with sweating, panting, and incredibly stressed out.

He locked his bike outside of the Mauville Poke Mart before entering the air conditioned building and stumbling exhaustedly towards the shop clerk.

"Can I…help you…?" the clerk asked, eyebrows furrowed as he watched the fifteen year old teen nearly trip over himself. The boy's face was an ugly splotched red color, and his eyes were full of unshed tears. The clerk wanted to pet the poor boy but decided against it, as his hair was probably full of sweat, no matter how fluffy it looked.

"Y-yeah," Tsuna said, struggling for air and to compose himself. "I'm here for a shipment of Antidotes for Verdanturf."

"Oh!" the clerk exclaimed before disappearing under the store counter. After a short while, the man reemerged with a box, and Tsuna belatedly realized that he wouldn't be able to speed through Route 117 again with a big, unwieldy box. He'd either have to walk his bike through with the box on top of it or bike through with the box blocking his vision. Either option would result in him most probably getting mauled by a wild Pokemon.

Quickly, he checked his pockets before internally wailing in dismay. He hadn't even brought his wallet so he could buy a repel.

The clerk watched the kid with a puzzled expression before nudging the box forwards hesitantly.

"Er, your supplies?" the man asked while the delivery boy melted onto the pristine tiles of the Poke Mart. He peered over the counter before sighing. He'd leave the boy to his mental breakdown, then.

XxX

It was only after half an hour of mental anguish that Tsuna finally managed to make it out of the Poke Mart with his box of Antidotes and a sort of resignation that one usually faced with execution had. He plopped the box on the seat of his bike and strapped it on using a length of rope the shopkeeper had so generously provided before wheeling the bike back into the heart of Mauville. He peered to his left, where the (admittedly very nice and peaceful) wilderness sprawled before him.

He paused and coached himself.

Really, it's not that bad. There's no grassy areas directly on the way back, and the trainers there are usually nice enough that they'll help you if you're in trouble. There's nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing.

After a moment of hesitation, all previous thoughts were replaced with the growls of Poochyena and lethal poison of Roselia. No, nope, nada, he couldn't do this.

"Did you see it? The poor thing…"

"That was no poor thing, it was a demon."

"How did it get all the way out here?"

Whispers coming the direction of Route 118 met his ears, and Tsuna looked over curiously. He saw a group of people staring out towards the beach, some worried, some fearful. Tsuna's curiosity won against his natural fearfulness at what sounded like an injuring Pokemon, and he wheeled his bike towards the group.

"U-um, excuse me, but what are you talking about?" he asked politely. The man who had commented on the 'demon' glanced down at the young, fluffy haired boy.

"There's an injured Houndour by the sea. Several people have tried to get close to it, but it's a hostile little thing. Won't let us get close to it at all," the man explained, turning back towards the sea and peering at a black Pokemon washed up on the beach. Tsuna felt his heart pound in sympathy, and he leaned his bike against a nearby fence before approaching the Houndour (which Tsuna had never even heard about before, was it a species from another region?). As he drew closer, shoes sinking into the sand, he grew to understand why the man had thought the Pokemon could have been a demon.

A Houndour was apparently a little black canine, teeth bared in warning and pitch black eyes shooting daggers at all who dared strayed close. Tsuna gulped and quickly backed up, his fear of Pokemon resurfacing, before he noticed the way the Houndour seemed to be nursing his side. It looked like a cornered animal, and Tsuna's heart pounded in sympathy. Its fur was matted with blood and salt water, and its body was wracked with minute shivers.

Ignoring the steadily increasing growls, Tsuna crept slowly towards the Pokémon. He held out his shaking hands, revealing no hidden weapons in them, and crouched.

"Hey, there, you look hurt. I can take care of you if you want," Tsuna said in a voice that he used on some of the younger kids at home. The Houndour snapped his jaws menacingly, and Tsuna flinched before resolving himself. This was an injured Pokemon, and no matter how scared he was of them, Pokemon were living beings too, and Tsuna would always help those who needed help, even if it was a menacing Salamence about to bite his head off. If there was one thing Tsuna could not leave alone, it was a hurt being, Pokémon or human.

"Look, I don't even have to catch you. I'll take you to the Pokécenter, get you fixed up, and let you go, okay?" Tsuna continued. The black canine sent Tsuna a withering look and narrowed his eyes, although his teeth were not as prominently bared.

Finally, Tsuna was close enough to touch the injured Pokémon. The Houndour was soaked through and obviously weak for it. He wondered if, somehow, the Houndour had washed up on shore from the ocean. It certainly seemed like it. There was a gash hidden among the black fur, not too deep but bleeding, and the Pokémon seemed exhausted. Perhaps the Pokemon was a fire-type?

As Tsuna reached out his hand, the Houndour snapped his jaws around the teen's hand. Tsuna flinched but didn't draw his hand back. He'd had worse injuries by the many bullies that used to tease him about his irrational fear ("Seriously, Dame-Tsuna, how are you going to live in a world filled with Pokemon if you're scared of them? Scardy cat!").

"I'm going to pick you up, okay?" Tsuna asked, well aware that he was talking to the Pokémon like he would a small child, and gently scooped the canine into his arms. The Houndour breathed out a small Ember, too weak to manage another attack, and growled unhappily.

With the Pokémon safe in his arms, Tsuna rushed towards the Pokécenter and past the group of gossiping people from earlier. The man from earlier had his eyebrows raised and a somewhat impressed look on his face. Too bad Tsuna didn't notice it, so focused was he on the shuddering, warm body in his arms. He burst into the Pokecenter and rushed to the front desk.

"Nurse, I need this Pokémon healed right away!" Tsuna panted. By no means was he athletic (as demonstrated by his biking rush from Verdanturf to Mauville), and the short run from the shore to the center had been tiring. The Houndour levelled an unimpressed stare at the boy, and Tsuna flushed slightly.

"Right away. Why isn't he in his Pokéball?" the nurse asked, motioning Tsuna to lay the Houndour onto a gurney beside her. Tsuna carefully set the Houndour down and stepped back, finally noticing the stinging in his hand due to the bite.

"He's not mine. I found him by the shore," Tsuna explained, wincing as his hand stung. It was red from the heat in the Houndour's mouth, and a neat circular row of imprints dotted it.

"Well, we'll get him treated. Do you need some help with your hand?" the nurse asked as a Chansey rolled the gurney and the Houndour, which had finally fallen limp from exhaustion, away.

"Yes, please," Tsuna replied politely. The nurse nodded and left. As Tsuna collapsed on the plastic chairs in the waiting room, exactly what had happened rushed to him. His eyes found themselves wandering to the ugly, burnt bite on his hand (which honestly wasn't that bad, but his imagination was rather active when enhanced by his fear), and he shrieked.

His life, Tsuna cried and melted into another puddle of human goo at the foot of his seat. Why was this his life.

XxX

After reassurance from the nurse that the wound wouldn't even scar, Tsuna settled down enough to call his mom on the complimentary calling stations. After a brief (very brief, no way was he going to let his mom know about his numerous freakouts) summary of the day's events, his eyes wandered to the nurse. He bade his mother goodbye and warily wandered up to the desk, where the nurse was scanning charts on her desk.

"E-excuse me, but…how is the Houndour?" he asked. The nurse looked up in surprise at his wording.

"The Houndour? It's not yours?" she asked.

Tsuna shook his head mutely, and the nurse's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Whose is it? Did you take it from someone?"

Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows before the full implications of her question hit him. After all, the atrocities of Team Rocket had yet to fade, even though the criminal syndicate had long fallen, taken down by some teen and his Pokemon. Despite the lack of crime lately, the suspicion was still there, in the back of many people's minds.

"Take it? No, of course not! Why would I do that?" Tsuna exclaimed and felt indignant at the accusation. Steal a Pokemon? Never! He frowned fiercely. "I wouldn't do that to anyone or their Pokemon."

The nurse studied the young man in front of him before nodding understandingly. This teen, who looked so affronted at the accusation and horrified at the mere thought of such a crime, surely couldn't steal any Pokemon.

"Alright, I believe you," the nurse replied. "The Houndour's fine. In fact, we can release him soon."

Him? Tsuna thought before sighing. Of course Pokemon had genders. It just hadn't occurred to him that the Pokemon was either male or female. It didn't matter, he supposed. As soon as he was out of the Pokecenter, Tsuna would just release him into the wild and hope to never see him (or another Pokemon, really) again.

The double doors leading into the medical facilities of the Pokecenter opened mere moments later, and a Chansey guided a dry, healed, but still menacing Houndour out. His beady black eyes scanned the room before zeroing in on Tsuna, whose courage had fled. The Houndour prowled closer to Tsuna, and Tsuna backed away slowly towards the doors leading out the Pokecenter. The nurse watched in bemusement.

As the doors opened behind Tsuna, letting out a waft of cool air into the damp spring air, Tsuna turned and fled towards his bike. He nearly froze in despair when he saw that he couldn't even ride it, and that damned shipment of Antidotes was taking up his seat. He grabbed the handles and wheeled it past pedestrians, who turned and witnessed the very strange sight of a boy running with a bulky box on a bike, a black, ferocious canine on his heels.

It was while he was taking his first steps onto Route 117 that an Oddish sprang out at him, squeaking and causing Tsuna to screech and misstep. His bike fell to the side, and Tsuna tumbled ungracefully onto the metal rails of the contraption. The bruising that he surely got from the fall seemed minor, however, in the face of a seething Houndour, who pounced onto the human's chest. The Houndour levelled a glare onto the petrified human and huffed.

(The Houndour nearly snorted in amusement when he saw the terror on the young human's face. This strange human who had saved him, who had overcome his obvious fear of small, black canines and brought him back to health. No matter how pathetic this human was, and no matter how easy and hilariously fun it was to scare the living stuffing out of him, the Houndour was a prideful Pokemon, and he had a debt to pay to this human.)

"I'm sorry don't kill me I really didn't mean to hurt you or anything I just wanted to help don'tkillmeplease," Tsuna begged, shielding his face from the Houndour. The Houndour merely stretched his mouth in a parody of a grin, all sharp small teeth and embers licking the inside of his mouth. Tsuna whimpered.

Suddenly, the small weight was gone, and Tsuna peeked from between his hands to see the Houndour sitting on the ground, looking thoroughly bored.

So, what are you waiting for? the Houndour seemed to ask, yawning and showing off sharp canines.

Tsuna crept away from the menacing Pokemon and stood slowly, dragging his bike up. He took a step away, and the Houndour followed. Tsuna took another step, and the Houndour looked completely exasperated. The Pokemon huffed an ember, and Tsuna quickened his steps away from the canine dogging his footsteps. It was only when Tsuna nearly reached Verdanturf (he'd been so preoccupied with the Houndour that he hadn't noticed when nearly no Pokemon dared to come within ten meters of the human) that he resigned himself to somehow gained a tagalong. An incredibly threatening tagalong that he most decidedly did not want.

My life, Tsuna despaired. Hopefully the canine would wander off by himself and leave Tsuna to his peace sometime.

XxX

"I'm so glad you finally got a Pokemon! Look at my little boy, all grown up!" Nana exclaimed, doting on the somehow innocent looking Houndour.

(That's definitely not what it looked like earlier! Tsuna wanted to shout but cowered when a menacing gleam appeared in the Pokemon's eyes while Nana wasn't looking.)

"I know! We'll name you Reborn!"

Tsuna's first thought was how his mother even came up with that name. His second thought was…well, there wasn't really a thought. Just a foreboding feeling when the Houndour – Reborn – looked all too pleased with the result.

Tsuna fled the scene, locked himself in his room, and resolved never to leave the house ever again.

XxX

A/N: Please leave a review on your way out!

Sincerely yours,

haplessgrapefrut